Inpatient Treatment Programs for Alcohol Dependence

ABSTRACT

Alcohol use disorder is one of the major psychiatric problems in Korea. Inpatient treatment programs include general medical and psychiatric evaluation, detoxification and control of withdrawal symptoms, and psychosocial rehabilitation. Benzodiazepines are a common prescription for the control of withdrawal symptoms. Psychosocial therapy is a crucial element in the treatment and prognosis of alcoholism. There are many psychosocial treatment modalities in the inpatient setting. The main modalities of recently introduced psychosocial treatments of alcoholism in the inpatient setting are as follows psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, motivation enhancement therapy, and twelve-step facilitation therapy. In Korea, in contrast to the great social burden of alcohol-related problems, a comprehensive alcoholism treatment system is lacking. Therefore we need psychosocial treatment programs on alcoholism specifically modified and tailored to Korean people.